Pretty Saro- a song that has crossed oceans, sung by, and for, broken hearts for centuries.

Pretty Saro

She Moved Thru’ the Fair- 
Achingly beautiful, this centuries-old song has a third verse variation that I learned later, and opted to keep out of my arrangement. It always seemed happy, and I wanted to keep it that way, instead of adding *another* ghost story to my repertoire.

She Moved Thru’ The Fair

Old Churchyard- The universality of grief resonates within the wrenching, honest lyrics of this old hymn.

Old Churchyard

Sir Orfeo is a ballad retelling the Orpheus tragedy. This arrangement hails from islands north of mainland Scotland, written in the 14th century, in a now dead dialect of Norse. It combines Celtic folklore (the Fae) with Greek mythology, and fascinates me intensely with its universal reach. I hope its magic speaks to you as it did to me.

Orfeo

This song is an example of different verses and songs converging into one or two traditions over time. My arrangement of this uses the combination of a Scottish lament from 1570 known as “Griogal Cridhe” and a different Scottish lullaby from the 1800’s. In “Griogal Cridhe,” the documented execution of Gregor MacGregor of Clan Strae by the Campbells, is sung to the son of the deceased by his mother, and this arrangement of “Ba-Ba Mo Leanabh Beag” contains my translations of the verses that carried over from both oral traditions.

Ba Mo Leanabh

Also known as “Maiden’s Lament” or “Sprig of Thyme,” this tune utilizes botanical symbolism to warn young women about the dangers of giving one’s youth to careless men. From Wikipedia, who had it all so nicely listed- “The representative symbolism is as follows:

"Thyme" – time and, to an extent, virginity.
"Red Rose" – romantic love, lust or "wanton passion"
"Violet" – modesty
"Willow" – sorrow and despair
"Rue" – regret”

This song was already established in British and Irish folk music by the 17th century. I enjoyed playing with the anger in this. Many songs of this nature are more coded with the feminine rage, as it were, and this is unapologetic.

Let No Man Steal Your Thyme

Another one from the British Isles and Ireland, this is yet another example of a song made up of ‘floater’ verses. The verses were distributed or collected for many variations of the song, as needed, by performer and occasion.

Love is Teasin’

The enigmatic and ecstatic literature, and life, of Edgar Allan Poe has inspired so, so many before me. Rediscovering this particular poem after years woke something in me, and I wanted to breathe new life into it, that others might experience how beautiful Annabel Lee really *really* is, even if they dislike “reading” poetry. Poe’s verse was always intended to be heard, recited, acted- I hope you feel something special from my recitation of it.

Annabel Lee

This song is essentially a dirge, opposed to a lament, properly classified, but the sweet melody and swift rhythm of it transfixed me as any well-made metaphor and I *had* to feel it out and bring it with me into the present. Originally I heard this from a Julie Fowlis and Friends traditional music session video online, and then explored a few other versions to help me understand the context better. I loved the idea of starting in English, switching to the original Scots-Gàidhlig to tell the story, and then reverting back to English for a recap using the original phrasing as close as possible. This recording is in the key of A, but I have another in the key of G that sounds more like a lullaby, and I may release that one as well on here, but this take is *pretty close* to how I hear it in my head now. I hope you feel the beauty of these words, and feel the urgency behind the sorrow.

La Bha’n Ridire Ag Ól

Poet, artist, breaker of guitar strings. Read my published work under Mari Deweese, and music under BURNING BRIGIDS.

BURNING BRIGIDS

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